Map based on USGS topographic Cohasset section map, Wompatuck state park maps, Trustees of Reservations Whitney and Thayer Woods map, information provided by J. Flaherty and H.C. Floyd and site visits. J. L. Heywood, June 1986. BIRDING WOMPATUCK STATE PARK by Jerry Flaherty, Scituate Wompatuck State Park is an extensive tract of woods, fields, brooks, and ponds located in the southeastern corner of Hingham (over half the park) and adjacent areas of Cohasset, Scituate, and Norwell. Before becoming a state park, the 3500-plus acres of Wompatuck were part of a United States military reservation. The federal government took control of this land in 1941 for use by the U. S. Navy. Added to other thousands of acres in Weymouth and Hingham, this rugged land, designated "Cohasset Annex," was used to conceal hundreds of thousands of tons of high explosives offloaded from the Seventh Fleet prior to dry-docking operations at Quincy and the Boston Naval shipyards. The federal government declared most of present-day Wompatuck "excess baggage" during the Vietnam War and "gave" it to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1968 for $300,000 (about $100 per acre). The commonwealth promptly turned the miles of am­ munition railroad linkages into bicycle paths and in 1970 opened a 400-site campground. To this day, the park is underused. Other local campgrounds know they always have a spillover area in Hingham. From the Greater Boston area, Wompatuck State Park is most easily reached by driving south on Route 3 to Route 228 (Exit 14) in Rockland. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left to Route 228 north. After about one mile, you will come to the intersection with Route 53. Continue straight through this intersection on Route 228 north. At 3.0 miles from this intersection, there will be a sign on the right for Wompatuck. Turn right here onto Free Street. At 0.8 miles from this turn, just after a sharp curve to the left, you will see on the right the large sign marking the main entrance to Wompatuck. Turn right here onto Union Street, and continue 0.2 mile to the gate. Access to Wompatuck is limited. Although several roads lead to the park, gates block entry by car at all but the Union Street entrance in Hingham. The Union Street gate is open from 7:30 A.M. to dusk year round. During the camping season, it is open later to campers only. Entry on foot, by bike, or on cross-country skis is available at any time at any of the gates. Elsewhere, the perimeter of the park is guarded by an eight-foot-high chain- link fence, topped with barbed wire. The other gates are located at South Pleasant Street in Hingham, Mt. Blue Street in Norwell, and Doane Street in Cohasset. Parking is limited outside the gates. Be certain not to block them. Driving access within the park is likewise limited to Union Street, which runs 2.5 miles through the heart of the park to the Mt. Blue Street gate in Norwell. (Actually, the road changes name within the park at the Hingham-Norwell line, just short of the Mt. Blue Street gate.) The only way to get to the outlying areas, aside 117 from attending the summer interpretive programs described at the end of this article, is by walking or bicycling. Wompatuck has almost twenty miles of paved bike paths and roads that are suitable for bicycles. Where these intersect Union Street, gates prevent entry by motor vehicles. Some off-road parking is available at most of these locations. Again, be careful not to block the gates. The Mason D. Foley Memorial Visitors Center, on the right 0.2 mile from the park entrance, offers comfort stations, telephones, and useful information any time it is open. It is a worthwhile stop for any first-time visitor. In the lobby are some small displays, several of mounted native birds, and one of items of historical interest. On the walls are posters showing native birds, mammals, trees, and wildflowers and two detailed maps, one showing Wompatuck's trails and another its general vicinity. Copies of a map showing Wompatuck's major trails and topography should be available at the desk, but the current version is not up-to-date. Staff on duty are happy to answer questions about the park. Current (1986) Visitors Center hours are 7:30 A.M. to 4:00P.M., seven days a week. In camping season, currently April 15 to October 15, other toilets are available at any hour throughout the camping area (on the right 1.6 miles from the park entrance). A large covered pictorial map of Wompatuck can be viewed any time just outside the Visitors Center entrance. If dates and hours of access are a particular concern, an advance call to the Visitors Center at 617-749-7160 would be wise. Dates and hours may be affected by state funding from year to year. Because of Wompatuck's large size and limited accessibility, binding the entire park in one visit would tax the energy and enthusiasm of even the most ardent birder. I have therefore described separate binding trips for five major sections of the park. One or more may be tackled in a day depending on one's time and energy. Woodpecker Pond and Accord Brook. This trip covers the section on the west side of Union Street from the main entrance to South Pleasant Street. It includes the Visitors Center, described above. Park at the Visitors Center, and walk back toward the main entrance. As you approach the gate, turn left and follow the fence. You will be heading south. This road will lead you to Woodpecker Pond. This and all other bodies of water in and around the park are man-made. Green-backed and Great Blue herons. Black-crowned Night-Herons, Wood Ducks,and kingfishers are possible here. After exploring the pond and the area beyond, return to the road you came on, and turn right where the road forks just northwest of the pond. This pleasant road through the woods will bring you back toward Union Street. Rufous-sided Towhee, Wood Thrush, 118 and Brown Thrasher are often found along this path. As the blacktop comes into view, you will intercept another path. A left here will return you to the Vistors Center via a nature trail. A right will take you to a meadow, wet well into the summer. Finches, sparrows. Common Yellowthroats, and House Wrens abound here. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are often heard since they nest in the woodland beyond. Continuing along this path will eventually bring you to Accord Brook and a drier field beyond. Blue-winged Warblers and/or "Brewster's" Warblers are frequently found here. "Pishing" at openings around the brook usually produces a good variety of songbirds. Occasionally, a screech-owl will answer a mimicking birder. This section is completed by walking to South Pleasant Street by way of some woodland trails and clearings, where one should regularly look skyward for soaring hawks. The Camping Area, Holly Pond, Prospect Meadow, and Prospect Hill. Even at the height of use in midsummer, a large portion of the southwestern end of the camping area is not used, and hemlock groves and planted Norway spruces provide some interesting habitat. Finches, creepers, and Red-breasted Nuthatches are customarily found here. The conifers should also provide extraordinary cover for roosting owls, although none have yet been seen here. Access to this section is from South Pleasant Street, from the campgrounds in the off-season or if you camp, or from the first access road on the right (0.3 mile) after well-marked Mt. Blue Spring. (The spring is a magnet for local people. Bring a few Illustration by William E. Davis, Jr. 119 jugs and get some water for yourself.) This last access road allows you to investigate Holly Pond and a prime area of spruces and hemlocks just to the northeast and connects as well to the road leading to Prospect Meadow and Prospect Hill. The meadow is a good place to find Indigo Bunting, and I have seen many hawks in the area over the years. Unfortunately, the s\immit of Prospect Hill is not cleared and does not reward the hiker with a vista. Fox Pond Loop. This area is best seen by making a loop that includes a part of Mt. Hope Street outside the park. Park at the Mt. Blue Street gate, which can be reached from either inside or outside the park. Again, do not block the gate. Follow the road that runs north­ eastward, initially along the fence. After passing Fox Pond, named for the furrier who summered here, bear left, and follow the path through one of the most beautiful parts of Wompatuck. This climax beech, oak, and hemlock forest is impressive for Plymouth County, and the rocky cores exposed by the glacier are reminiscent of coastal Maine. It sometimes takes the voice of the Hermit Thrush to return your focus to birding in these pristine surroundings. This wooded road eventually takes you to the southwestern tongue of the Cohasset Reservoir, a section that predates the present body of water and served once as a resource for a turn- of-the-century ice house. Herons, kingfishers, and hawks are regularly seen in this area. When leaving the reservoir, instead of returning the way you came, continue back southeastward along a road that runs east of the power lines. Look for a grove of Sugar Maples and one of White Birches along this path.